*Visit an exhibit by
Newton
artist, Mary Homeier, at the Ola Babcock Miller
Building

*Come hear
Pella
poet, John Thompson read from his book 99 Voices, 99 Lives, County Poems of
Iowa

*Search the Des Moines
Register online using your State Library
card

*The April
State Data
Showcase at the State Library was a
success

*Need a
'wired'
place to complete a project or to relax during your lunch break?

***************************

Come to the State
Library to see an exhibit of watercolors, linocuts and more by Newton artist, Mary
Homeier. Mary taught art in Hampton, Cedar Falls and Newton for
25 years. She worked for the State Historical Society of Iowa in Des
Moines from 1977 until her retirement in 1991. She continues with
volunteer work at the State Historical Society.

Mary has been an
artist for more than 60 years and has enjoyed being included in juried art
exhibits and art fairs and has had numerous one-person art shows. She is a
signature member of the Iowa Watercolor Society.

The State Library is
located in the Ola Babcock Miller Building at the corner of E. 12th and Grand in
Des Moines and is open Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. except
holidays.

***************************

John
Thompson, a Pella poet, will read from his
book 99 Voices, 99 Lives,
County Poems of Iowa from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., July 18th on the
first floor of the State Library. A fusion of Iowa history and poetry is how
Thompson describes the book which includes poems composed by Thompson for each
of Iowa's 99 counties. He spent two years visiting all 99 counties and was
inspired for each county's poem by something unique to the county such as a
person, place, event or characteristic.

When reading from
the book, Thompson enjoys giving explanation and background to each verse as
well as taking requests from audience members. Copies of 99 Voices, 99 Lives, County Poems of
Iowa will be for sale at the reading and Thompson will also
autograph copies. Admission is free and no reservations are required to attend
the program.

The State Library
also has a copy of his book in its collection. Find it in our online catalog at
http://catalog.lib.state.ia.us/ or give us a call at
515-281-4102 or 800-248-4483.

***************************

State Library
customers can search the full text of
the Des Moines
Register and six other Iowa newspapers: Cityview, the East Dubuque Register, the
Cedar Rapids
Gazette, the Burlington Hawk Eye, the
Iowa City
Press-Citizen, and the Dubuque Telegraph Herald.
Newsweek,
Time, and
U.S. News & World
Report are also included.

To search for articles go to
our Web site www.statelibraryofiowa.org, click on ‘Logon to
Online Resources’ in the left sidebar, and then click on ‘NewsBank’. Enter your
State Library card number to access the database.

If you don’t have
a card and would like to register for one, click on ‘State Library Card’ on the
left sidebar of our Web site.

For assistance finding an article or
for more information, please call our reference staff at 515-281-4102,
800-248-4483 or email is@lib.state.ia.us.

***************************

Got
Data?

Thanks to the State
Data Showcase 2007, more than 170 state employees now have the latest facts,
figures, and maps at their fingertips for better access to statistics about
Iowa’s kids, labor force, environment, agriculture, economy, college students,
and justice system.

Participants in the
Showcase, which was hosted by the State Library during National Library Week,
were enthusiastic about the data, the instructors, the training facility, and
the State Data Showcase concept and had this to say:

• “Excellent –
these are stats and analysis
that I need”• “I can use the information in grant proposals and
advocacy information for my agency”• “Did not know this much
information existed”• “…[the instructor] was enthusiastic and
knowledgeable”• “Knew his subject well, been around for a long
time.”• “Very clear, the right amount of detail”• “Good
setup; having laptops in the classroom was very helpful”• “Great
classroom”• “Great idea”• “Great introduction to what is
available and how to access it”• “Thanks to the State Data Center for
putting on the data showcase…this was an extremely valuable
day!”

Special thanks go to
the instructors who made the Showcase a success: Phyllis Blood and Laura
Roeder-Grubb from Criminal and Juvenile Justice Planning; Cam Conrad and Casey
Kohrt from the Department of Natural Resources; Mike Crawford from Child and
Family Policy Center; Dave Engels from the Department of Human Services; Tony
Girardi from the Iowa College Student Aid Commission; John Greiner from the
Department of Economic Development; Margie Hanson from the Department of
Education; Gary Krob from the State Library; Kathy Mabie from the Department of
Management; Emily Meyer from the Legislative Service Agency; Deb Ostrem from
Iowa Workforce Development; Joe Prusacki from the Department of Agriculture; Deb
Roeder from the Department of Public Health; Roxann Ryan from the Department of
Public Safety; and Ryan Wyllie and Nick Meurer from the Department of
Transportation.

***************************

Many state employees
who work on the capitol complex have discovered a welcoming
space at the State Library. The State Library has a number
of computer work stations for patrons and it also has a wireless internet
connection for those who want to bring their own internet devices. Whether you
want to get away from the interruptions in your office to complete a project, to
use the internet during your lunch break, or to find a quite place to read and
study come over to the Ola Babcock Miller Building and check us out. The State
Library is open Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. except
holidays.

*Answers to your information needs are available at your desktop
using our Ask A Librarian service. Go to our Web site http://www.statelibraryofiowa.org/
and click on "Ask a Librarian" in the upper right hand corner.